


Jealousy

by Momma_Time



Series: Commissions and Requests [2]
Category: Castle, Castle (TV) RPF
Genre: Crack, Fluff, Kids, Pranks, Shenanigans, season 7 ep 4 spin off
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-10-20 05:21:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10655757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Momma_Time/pseuds/Momma_Time
Summary: Emily is jealous of Beckett's relationship with Castle and decides to do something about it.





	Jealousy

Castle enjoyed his time with the class of second-graders enough to go back and volunteer every other week when they weren't busy with a case. Fridays had become a play day for the overgrown child, but it gave Beckett a day to herself, usually. Days like today, a science fair event was being held at the school, and they needed extra hands.  
  
The puppy eyes were what got her, and Beckett found herself caving into Castle's request to join him and help out.

What should have been just a few hours of playing around with the students with Castle turned into something almost nightmarish by the end of the day. Beckett could have sworn that she caught a little girl glaring at her, the one that seemed to have latched onto Castle since he started working in the classroom. They were adorable together, with Castle happy to play dress-up with her and the other girls in the classroom during recess, but when she wasn't around Castle and alone with Beckett, she was a whole other animal.  
  
The incidents started out small.  
  
The girl, Emily, dragged her classmate over to show Beckett how he was "peeling his skin off," which was far from the most disturbing thing Beckett had ever seen. Kids and playing with glue. Was she ever like that at that age? Beckett couldn't recall ever purposefully pouring glue onto her hands and peeling it off like layers of skin. Wait. She'd tried it once in middle school when someone told her that glue could be put on a person's face and when peeled off, it would pull the gunk out of your pores. Beckett didn't remember it working, and didn't bother trying it again after the first time.  
  
But one look from Castle, and she found herself showing her natural disgust. And when Emily wanted to pour glue onto Beckett's hand, another look told her that she wasn't getting a say in the matter. The cold fluid poured into her palm, and she was told to smear it around. The whole thing was disgusting. Give her mutilated bodies, not slimy things one may encounter in their daily lives. Like doing the dishes and finding that one plate that's sticky or something. That, she couldn't handle; this was creeping up on too much. Her cringe wasn't faked in the slightest.  
  
After smearing it around on her palms, Jason walked up and dropped shredded paper onto her sticky hands, giggling along with Emily when Emily shouted "gotcha!" and scurried off to find something else to get into. When she heard Castle cackling two desks over, she shot him a murderous look; he only laughed harder.  
  
\--  
  
Beckett found herself in the bathroom later on trying to rinse the slime out of her hair. Castle thought it would be fun to teach the kids how to make slime as a "science experiment" for the fair, which was fine on its own; the problem came when Emily apparently had too much water in hers, which somehow ended up in Beckett's hair. The cool, liquidy goop splattered onto her hair when Emily, sitting in the desk behind her, thought it would be a good idea to smack it with her palm, sending the pink goo right onto the back of Beckett's head.  
  
"Oops."  
  
Oops, her ass, Beckett thought as she did what she could to scrub the mess out of her hair. Needless to say, she was going to smell like silly putty for the rest of the day, and there were still bits of pink in her hair. Castle had come in and tried to help her, but that went nowhere because the clown couldn't stop laughing at the situation. Beckett wanted to strangle him after two minutes of this. Another teacher took pity on her and offered her an elastic for her hair to keep it from getting the goo on her clothes. Beckett planned to get that woman a candy bar or something later for saving her ass like this.  
  
\--  
  
Emily or Jason had to have seen one of the many Home Alone movies or something. Beckett didn't know where else the girl would have learned how to do this trick.  
  
She and Jason get their hands on yarn from the art room and take it with them outside during recess. It wasn't difficult. Tie one end to a tree and then tug the yarn just before the person steps through it to trip them. Everything seemed innocent enough until the accident actually happened. Until that point, Beckett and Castle were enjoying their lunch on a bench by the playground. The grass and dirt around the sandy playground were still damp with dew, the droplets hanging on until the last second as the sun rose higher in the sky.  
  
Castle told her stories about the kids he'd met while volunteering here, and Beckett obliged him by listening. She wasn't completely interested in it, but it made Castle happy to gush about them. If her fiance was happy, then she was happy; she could learn to live with his tiny obsession for a few weeks. Hopefully, that's as long as it would go. Beckett didn't really want to deal with this for more than a few months, at the latest. Her hope was that he'd grow tired of it eventually and go back to his semi-normal ways.  
  
Until then, she would silently eat her sandwich and watch him talk with his hands a mile a minute.  
  
"Ms. Beckett! Ms. Beckett!" She dragged her eyes away from Castle to figure out who was calling her. Jason. "Ms. Beckett come look!"  
  
Sighing, Beckett pushed herself to her feet. "I'll be back in a second."  
  
It didn't take long for her to cross the playground to where Jason was waving a picture he'd taken. She almost forgot that the boy was capable of making her life hell what with the giant smile on his face; his excitement was infectious. She avoided the softened earth, noting the cut grass sticking to the bottoms of her boots, and already made a mental note to clean them off before she went back inside.  
  
He had a handful of bugs in his hands; a caterpillar and a ladybug, and he raised his hand up to show her. "See?"  
  
Did Jason really bring her over here to look at bugs? Stars above, help her. She could pretend to be interested. "That's...very interesting. What kind of caterpillar is that? Do you know?"  
  
"Nope." Oh. "But catch!" He chucked the two bugs into her face, and she stumbled back with a yelp. Beckett didn't see the string Emily had pulled tight behind her, and Beckett felt a lurch in her stomach as she stumbled backward and right into a mud puddle she had previously tried to avoid. There was a loud splash, muddy water spattering everywhere. Beckett lay there, staring at the sky as she tried to ignore the laughter around her and the slight sting in her lower back from where she hit the ground. She heard the clicking of a camera shutter and sighed. Jason took a picture, didn't he?  
  
With a huff, Beckett stood and tried to brush off clumps of mud, but it wasn't helping much; her clothes were ruined, she decided. Maybe she could use them for when she cleaned or worked on other projects, at least then she wouldn't have to throw them out. She heard another click behind her and turned to find Jason aiming his camera at her ass.  
  
"Do you mind?"  
  
He beamed at her, "Nope!"  
  
She deadpanned, reaching forward and trying to snatch the polaroid from him. Like hell would he be allowed to keep that. Wouldn't that be illegal to some extent? Or was it not? She didn't know the protocol for something like that; it wasn't like she was undressed or anything.  
  
He jerked away, giggling as he ran off to Emily to show her the pictures he took. The pair leaned in close, pointing at various places in the photos and laughing. Emily and Jason trotted off to give them to Castle, thinking that he would laugh with them. He did but asked Jason if he could have the pictures to take home. Jason didn't seem thrilled to give them up, but Emily was all for it, and that's how Castle got pictures of Beckett's muddy ass and how Beckett was saved a little embarrassment.  
  
\--  
  
Babysitting. How in the hell had Castle managed to get them into this situation? Sure, they called it being a substitute teacher, but really she and Castle were being paid to babysit a class of six and seven-year-olds. Like last time, the next incident happened outside. Beckett thought that Castle might have been behind this, or maybe she was just looking for someone to blame for these kids being little monsters.  
  
It was supposed to be a simple game of hide-and-seek, and they had roped her into playing. It wasn't Emily or Jason that asked her, so Beckett thought that this might be safe for her. She could avoid anything terrible. This was not the case as she quickly found herself trapped in a tube. What had happened was, she was picked to find everyone first, and she succeeded. Beckett even took the time to pretend to struggle to find the kids, even if their giggles made it obvious as to where they were hiding. She was on the prowl, stalking them through the playground and catching them quickly before they could run off to the safe space; it took about five or so minutes. The first one she caught was next to be the seeker and Beckett scurried to hide somewhere where she could actually fit. It was difficult for an adult to hide somewhere on a playground meant for little kids, that was designed to allow parents and teachers to see all of them easily. The children didn't realize this, and Beckett wouldn't tell them either. She found one of the tunnels and crawled in there.  
  
The problem came when she tried to climb out a few minutes later when Josh found her. She'd managed to crawl in with easy, but to get out, she'd have to flatten herself back out, and army crawl her way out of there. The next problem was that it wasn't wide enough for her to drag herself out with her arms, and she'd have to slide out by pulling her way forward, inching her way through it. The third problem came when she felt something on her behind, like a stick or something. It tickled, and she yelped and tried to jerk away from it without kicking out like she wanted to. If it were a kid, she could seriously hurt them. Beckett tried to look over her shoulder to see who it was, but couldn't turn around enough to look back.  
  
"Please stop."  
  
There was a giggle behind her and Beckett immediately recognized it. Emily.  
  
Sighing, Beckett managed to inch her way out of the tube and push herself to her feet. There were more giggles behind her, and one of the kids shouting that her "butt is smiling!" What in the hell did they do? She twisted around to try and see and saw a slew of chalk markings on her pockets and the seat of her pants. There was a smiley face, along with poorly drawn flowers decorating the pockets around it. Along the top by her belt, there was a poorly drawn ruler and numbers that stated how big her behind was; there was no way hers was that wide, thank you very much. Just as she was sagging with defeat, there was a click. Looking up at the sound, there was Jason with his camera, smirking as he pulled the Polaroid from his camera and showing it to Emily.  
  
Beckett held out a hand, "Please give that to me." This was the second time Jason had caught a picture of her ass, and she was beginning to wonder what kind of influence he was getting at home. This was ridiculous, and she had enough of the butt pictures.  
  
"Nope!" Laughing, he and Emily ran off to again show their picture with Castle. Just like last time, Castle laughed with them and asked if he could keep it. Jason and Emily, the little brats, happily relinquished the photo and ran back to Beckett to try and take more.  
  
Beckett took her jacket off and wrapped it around her waist to hide the markings until she could get them off and strode to the bench Castle was lounging on. "Give it here, Castle."  
  
He let out a disappointed sigh but handed it to her. After looking at it, Beckett went to the trashcan a few paces away and tossed it into the bin. Like hell was Castle keeping that picture. She didn't know that he planned to dig it back out when she wasn't looking, and they were corralling the kids back to class. What she didn't know, wouldn't hurt her, he thought.  
  
She was stuck with the markings until she got home that night and was irritable for the rest of the day. Putting on a sweet smile or passive expression was difficult when all she wanted to do was lock the kids in a closet or something so they wouldn't tap dance on every nerve in her body; and it wasn't all of the kids, just Jason and Emily. She didn't know what their problem was with her and wished that she had a way to stop it.  
  
Her future would not be as bright as she hoped and Castle wouldn't be of any use to her in the coming visits to the classroom or their field trips.  
  
\--  
  
Her fiance always seemed to get his way, and she was back in the second-grade classroom one month later. Emily seemed just as unhappy to see her there as Beckett felt about being in the classroom at all. The girl wouldn't talk to her the whole day, which was just fine by Beckett, as she didn't want to be here and didn't want to go on this field trip with the class to the aquarium with them.  
  
Don't get her wrong; she liked the aquarium to a point. She preferred to be there when it wasn't so crowded, but it was nice to see the variety of wildlife. Her favorite had to be the small sharks and mantas in the large pool where people could walk up and run their fingers over their backs. The cool and smooth skin felt nice to the touch, and there was something therapeutic about the whole thing. She had always thought that it was unsafe for the marine life to have the oils from human skin getting on them, but apparently, it was okay here. They wouldn't allow people to pet them if it wasn't healthy for the fish, right?  
  
The class explored the aquarium in small groups, visiting each section of the indoor, aquatic zoo. Most of the kids loved the penguin exhibit, getting a kick out of crawling through the short tunnel to pop up into a glass bubble in the middle of the enclosure to get a closer look at the waddling birds that would wander closer to get a peek at the fleshy creatures that stared back at them just as much curiously. The excited expressions on the children's faces were infections, Beckett would admit, but she didn't join them. There was something about being crammed into a tight tunnel and headspace with a bunch of seven-year-olds that just wasn't appealing to her.  
  
It was mostly fun, although Beckett thought she would like it more if she were on her own to take the time to read everything, and their lunch break went well.  
  
Her group wanted to go back to the small shark and manta pool to pet them again; everything went to Hell again.  
  
She should have known that all good things must come to an end because she just knew one of the kids would try and splash the water on each other. There was a sign that said don't do it because it would startle the animals, and it was just a bad idea in general. But, seven-year-olds being seven-year-olds, didn't read the sign or listen to the attendant and started splashing the water around, not really aiming for anyone. Emily was the only one to take aim, and Beckett found herself with wet jeans when Emily splashed her. The kids started up with the "ew" and "Ms. Beckett wet her pants!" Jason was the one to chime in with, "Did you know that fish swim in their own pee and poo?"  
  
Yes, because that made things so much better for her.  
  
She quickly turned away to assess the damage in the better lighting behind her and huffed. Dear stars, this looked horrible, and there were bits of sand that had been tossed into the mix after the kids had disturbed the water. Wet and grainy. Just what she needed. And to make matters worse, the moment her arms dropped to her sides, knowing that she couldn't save her clothes until she got home, there was a small wave of cold water that splashed over her lower back and behind, soaking through her jeans and underclothes. Oh, she was going to strangle them...  
  
"HA HA Ms. Beckett is covered in poop! Fish poop! She's got fish poop on her butt! Ms. Beckett has a poopy butt!" Yep, she wanted to strangle Emily now too.  
  
The adults and staff around the pond laughed along with the kids, leaving Beckett to sigh and clench her eyes shut while she took deep breaths to calm herself. She shrugged off her jacket and wrapped it around her waist, letting the knotted arms cover the mess that she just knew was going to give her a rash within the hour if she didn't change her clothes. She'd have to buy diaper rash cream for it, just to survive the next day.  
  
Beckett turned her attention to Emily, who was still giggling at her antics. The little girl waved, flashed a cheeky smile, and wandered off to the other side of the pool.  
  
Castle chose that moment to show up with his group; one look at her face and appearance was enough for him to figure out what happened. "Which one of them got you?"  
  
"Your little princess."  
  
"Emily? She wouldn't; she's a good kid."  
  
"Yeah, well, good kid or not, she still made a mess of my clothes, and I've been laughed at by every parent, teacher, and kid here. Now my jeans are wet, and I'm going to be miserable for the rest of the day." She fiddled with the knot and then gave up with a huff.  
  
"We're almost done, and then we can go home for you to change." He was trying to reassure her, but it wasn't helping her mood or doing its job of giving her a little hope that this would work out.  
  
"That's still at least an hour away and--" Her phone buzzed in her pocket, causing her to groan quietly. Great. She knew what the call was about before she even answered it. "Beckett." Another case and no time for her to change before she had to go to work for a couple of hours. Wasn't it supposed to be her day off?  
  
"I'll see you later tonight; I have to go."  
  
"Someone coming to pick you up?"  
  
She nodded and slipped her phone into her pocket, "Yes. Can you watch my group for me and let her know that I'm sorry that I had to leave early?"  
  
"She'll understand. She's grateful that you came to help out with the class at all."  
  
"Thanks, Castle." With that, she got the hell out of there for the sake of her sanity.  
  
\--  
  
Jason's sister, as a show of thanks for helping her with the case from months back, invited her and Castle to her Halloween block party. Castle immediately made a bet that they would have to go in costume for the celebration, and Beckett took it, knowing he was right but expecting him to pick something reasonable for their costumes if he was right. He was right, but he was not reasonable. Beckett found herself dressed as Jane, with Castle as Tarzan, and while his was mostly comfortable, her costume showed a little more skin than she wanted it to. She tried her best to make it cover her a little more, it WAS October, but there was only so much she could do before it didn't match the movie that Castle had seen and fallen in love with.  
  
She took a light jacket with her to keep in the car, just in case she needed it.  
  
When they arrived, she and Castle were immediately drawn into their home to chat and grab the food and sweets that they were assigned to provide while they waited for the whole event to start. It was nice, everyone was mostly friendly, and above all else, it was warm inside their home. However, one aunt thought it would be appropriate to ask her about why she would wear something so revealing on the last day of October.  
  
She decided, to be honest, "I lost a bet with my fiance."  
  
"What in the hell did you bet on that you lost?" she asked, laughing at Beckett's getup.  
  
"On whether or not we were required to come in costume. I knew I would probably lose, but I thought he would choose something a little less--" she glanced around to make sure Jason wasn't around before continuing with, "slutty."  
  
An older gentleman, possibly the grandfather, looked her over. "I remember back in the day when my wife was still alive; she would dress like that for me. Let me tell you, she was gorgeous when she'd dance for me and--"  
  
"Pops! Not here, not now. Please stop," his daughter begged. The older man only cackled, laughing harder when his daughter swatted him.  
  
Please, someone, shoot her.  
  
Jason eventually showed up in his Power Ranger's, blue ranger costume, his sister trailing behind him after having helped him to change into it. Just as he turned up, the doorbell rang, and Jason ran to answer it, bounding excitedly as he unlocked the door.  
  
"Emily!" Oh, shit.  
  
The little girl scampered inside with a grin, her Merida costume making a swishing noise. The wig was already halfway falling out, and Beckett had to resist the urge to pin it in place. Nope. She wasn't helping the girl right now. The aunt noticed and called her over, helping her put it to rights.  
  
This is when Emily noticed Castle and Becket and hugged Castle tightly, smiling happily. The little girl glanced at Beckett when Castle picked her up to hug her and stuck her tongue out.  
  
"Well someone has a crush and is jealous," one of the cousins muttered. Beckett wanted to swing her arms and hands in their direction while shouting to Castle that 'see? She wasn't imagining things!'  
  
Castle, however, didn't hear him, too busy listening to Emily chatter on about her costume and show off her trick-or-treat bag. Jason seemed unhappy that his playmate was preoccupied with someone else, and Beckett briefly wondered if he had a crush on Emily now. Or maybe it was because Emily was there to spend time with him and not Castle, which she was not doing.  
  
"So when are you two getting married?" the aunt asked, trying to start up the conversation again.  
  
"Maybe next summer. We haven't decided on a date yet. I'd rather spring or fall because of the colors and the milder weather; he'd rather have summer because of the sunshine." Beckett smiled slightly, "I'm pretty sure I'm going to win this one. Besides, photographers hate sunny days for their photo shoots. It's easier to brighten the picture than it is to darken it. So, a time where it might be a little more overcast would be preferable. That, and the layers I'll have to wear. I don't want to melt in my dress if he gets his way on having an outdoor wedding."  
  
"Oh, hon, don't do summer. You're right; you'll die in that heat. Fall would be better, mid-October. That's when my mother had her wedding, and she swore by it."  
  
"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."  
  
"Mr. Castle? Can I be the bride's maid?" Emily asked.  
  
"Uh, actually, my daughter will be her bride's maid, I think. Is that right?" He looked at her for confirmation.  
  
"Yeah. If I'm going to become part of his family, and she's going to become my step-daughter, I'd like to have her at my side."  
  
Emily seemed to deflate at this. "Oh." Then she perked back up. "I wanna be the flower girl."  
  
Her mother, who had just walked in, snorted with laughter, "Sweetheart, there's no guarantee that you'll even be there."  
  
Emily turned big eyes on Castle, hoping that he'd say 'yes.' Castle seemed to flounder a moment, fighting the urge to say 'yes,' but Beckett stepped in to be the voice of reason. "Emily, we're having a small wedding, just our closest family and a few friends from work. We won't have that position for you to fill, but thank you for wanting to be part of it." There. That was diplomatic, right? Did she get that right? The girl's face said 'no,' but Castle was breathing a sigh of relief. So long as he was happy with the answer, then maybe she had been gentle enough about it.  
  
She didn't know that this would cause problems later in the evening.  
  
The first thing they did, was to slip a fake cockroach into her macaroni and cheese, startling her when she looked back down onto her plate. Beckett dropped her fork and flinched away until she realized it wasn't real. Well, she didn't know where the toy had been or the hands that had played with it, so she wasn't eating the mac anymore. Who knew what germs could be on the thing. So, she tossed a napkin over that part of her plate and finished her meal.  
  
After everyone had eaten and cleaned up the throwaway dishes from the tables they'd set up on the sidewalks and road, people started wandering from building to building with their candy to collect their candy and dollar store toys. Emily dragged Castle along with her and Jason, rather than her own parents, and Beckett was left to follow behind the pair, with Jason walking beside her. He was sporting a scowl that could kill a man that he directed at Castle's back.  
  
"You know that he doesn't like her like that, right?" Beckett started. "I don't know if you like her or not but--"  
  
"I don't like Emily!" He denied it, and his blush showed his hand.  
  
"Well, she's your friend, and she's here to see you, not Castle and I." She paused to let him and Emily trot up to the first door and get their candy but continued when he got back. "We like our friends, right?" He nodded. "You don't have to like-like her or anything, but hey, I understand if you're a little jealous. Your friend is playing with someone else. Maybe ask her if you two can walk together? Castle will drop back and walk with me so that you can have her attention again and hang out."  
  
Jason fell silent as he ran up to the next door, and he still wasn't speaking when he came back. After a minute or so of contemplation, he nodded to himself and trotted to Emily's side. Beckett heard him quietly asking her if they could walk together, and when she said 'yes' like Beckett had predicted, Castle dropped back to walk hand-in-hand with her. Jason glanced over his shoulder at her, smiled slightly, and then started talking animatedly about Power Rangers when Emily asked him what he was supposed to be.  
  
Castle leaned over to whisper to her. "I heard what you said. Smooth move."  
  
"Hey, it rescued you, and it gave Jason his friend back so that he's not moping all night because his friend has a small crush on you." They squeezed their hands and fell into a comfortable silence, listening to the two kids talk about their day at school and why they picked their costumes. It would have been cute, if not for the fact that not even ten minutes later, one of the doors was passing out silly string to the kids. Why they thought that that was a good idea, she didn't know. It was a terrible idea, and she wished that she could have warned them before all of this began.  
  
Worse still, Jason and Emily turned and after prying the lids off of the cans took aim for each other, grinned, and instead aimed for Beckett and Castle. Castle go a little on his hip and stomach, but the worst of it hit Beckett. It was on her outfit, in her outfit--she could feel a strand of the stuff that fell into her bra--and in her hair. From here, it was a matter of which would take priority in cleaning up. Based on how it felt, she wanted the foam off of her breasts first. It was unbelievably uncomfortable, and she was cringing every time she moved wrong and it shifted around.  
  
Emily and Jason thought that her new look was hilarious, and after pausing to laugh at her, they started shooting at her again, getting more of it on her, despite Beckett throwing her hands out to try and block the mess. It was a little too late, but the last bit of the cans finished emptying on them, which saved her from the final splatters that always came from the dregs of the cans. The kids and adults around them were giggling, although a few looked horrified or disproving.  
  
Beckett glared at them for a moment and huffed, "I'm going back to Jason's place to try and clean up. You're on your own for a bit."  
  
Castle had tried to not laugh at the sight, but it was difficult not to. When he did sober up, he turned to the kids and actually reprimanded them. Beckett wished that she could have been there for all of it; at least Castle was on her side sometimes.  
  
The trek back to the building was slow, despite her speed walking to get there, and even though she usually didn't care what people thought of her--to a certain extent--Beckett could feel her face burning in embarrassment; it only made her walk faster to get back. She found Emily's mom first, who, after giggling a little, helped her get back into the house and get the foam out of her hair.  
  
"So who got you?" she asked, picking the smaller pieces out of Beckett's hair.  
  
Your brat, Beckett wanted to say. "Emily and Jason. This isn't the first prank they've pulled on me. They got me at the aquarium a week ago, they slimed me, chalk on my ass, tripped me so that I fell into the mud, and the list goes on. Castle doesn't seem to believe me, and when he does, he's too busy laughing at the situation."  
  
"Emily did this? Surely not." Please, not another one. When Beckett nodded again, the woman seemed put out. "Emily and I will have a talk later and hopefully get this stopped."  
  
"I would appreciate it, although I think a talk would be enough." She didn't want the kid to be grounded or spanked, mostly. Sweet vengeance, yes, but it might be too far. "I hope."  
  
"I'm sorry about her. I'll have her apologize when she gets back, and I'm sure Jason's family will do the same." The woman dropped a particularly long strand of green string into the trash can by the sink.  
  
Let's hope so, she thought. Beckett hoped that it would be enough for her to escape the pranks once and for all.  
  
The night didn't end without another incident, much to her dismay. Because of her luck, a bucket that was being used to house the apples and water for the bobbing for apples game was tipped over onto her. Not only was she still covered in bits of silly string, but now she was soaking wet in the late fall air, and wearing very little. Emily and Jason got a kick out of it, having been the ones to upend the large bucket, hopped around in the muddy puddle they'd made, and getting flecks of dirt on Beckett. The woman clenched her jaw and shut her eyes tight, breathing slowly to keep calm before she turned away and made for the car. Forget it; she was ready to go home. Forget talking to anyone on her way out.  
  
\--  
  
Christmas. Beckett liked Christmas, to a point. There were good and bad memories associated with the holiday and its season. She liked the lights and the music, hated the shopping, and wished for nothing more than to not have to work in the cold air. Things would improve in a few days after the festival Castle promised to help with. They pair planned to spend a few weeks in the mountains for Christmas and Beckett was looking forward to getting some much needed fresh air.  
  
It couldn't come soon enough.  
  
When she got home that night, Castle had that look on his face, the look that said that he was about to ask for something. Her suspicions were confirmed when he brought out a hot fudge cake he'd put together in the kitchen with a few extra cherries on top. Beckett stared at the dessert in front of her, gears turning in her head as she tried to work out what he was about to ask her or apologize for. She let him bring it up after they ate the treat quietly.  
  
"I have a favor to ask of you." He was hesitant, and Beckett felt a lump of dread drop into her gut, wondering how bad this was going to be for her and what the hell she was about to get into. Castle continued when Beckett gave him an expectant look. "The school is having a Christmas play and event, and one of the teachers asked me to be the Grinch. However, they also asked me to round up someone to play Max, and I was hoping you would take that role."  
  
"You want me to play a dog?" she asked to clarify.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What will I be wearing?"  
  
"Antlers tied on with string and a fuzzy, brown tunic and tights. Nothing major or anything, just...those and red paint on your nose. Oh, and a tail."  
  
There was silence as Beckett fiddled with the fork in her hand, pushing around the melted remnants of the ice cream and chocolate syrup she couldn't finish. What could go wrong here? Everything. He could wind up picking out another skimpy outfit, like what he did for Halloween; the parents could mutter names for her under their breath; kids could mess with the tail or antlers, messing up the costume; if she had lines or something, she could botch those up. The list goes on.  
  
"What exactly will I be doing?" she finally asked.  
  
"Just sitting there and looking pretty, act like a friendly dog, I don't know."  
  
No details on it. Great.  
  
"Let me think on it."  
  
Two days later, and Beckett finally agreed to help out. Castle beamed and darted for the bedroom, coming back with her costume.  
  
"How do you already have that?"  
  
Castle looked between the garments on the hanger and Beckett, "I knew you'd say 'yes' at some point."  
  
Was she really that easy?  
  
When it came time for the celebration, Beckett made herself comfortable on the floor by the chair where Castle would be sitting as the Grinch. Kids would sit on his lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas, and Castle had to act like a grump. He was terrible at it, but he was trying at least.  
  
Beckett was bored after five minutes of sitting on the floor, and her ass and lower back were already giving her problems. It was uncomfortable, and she was not in enough layers to cushion her rear end. At least it wasn't too skimpy. Tights, a fuzzy leotard, and fuzzy shoes and gloves. At least she wasn't showing off too much of her body this time, and it could be worse, but that didn't make her any happier about it.  
  
Things were going well though. There hadn't been any incidents other than a first grader freaking out when their mother tried to pass them to Castle. All in all, everything was moving along smoothly, and Beckett soon found herself relaxing a little, in the sense that she didn't feel like she had to constantly look over her shoulder in paranoia that someone or something was going to mess with her. Every time she had set foot in this school, something bad happened to her; she couldn't be blamed for being nervous about coming back.  
  
The play is when everything went to hell. Beckett was just supposed to trot around behind Castle for the brief moment he showed up, bouncing around excitedly even if she was dying inside. Castle said his lines, did his thing, and then they were to exit stage right. Well, as some of the kids were playing with their "presents," someone was bound to drop something. It was Emily, and it was a bag of marbles that spilled out across the floor. Beckett was the one to slip and fall, hitting the floor with a thud and banging her head in the process.  
  
"Oops." Oops her ass. Beckett unclenched her eyes and turned her head to look at Lucy, who didn't look guilty at all about what had happened.  
  
Castle was at her side in a split second, checking her over and helping her up. After a moment to let her get her bearings, they exited the stage. The moment they were out of view, Castle started bugging her with questions about her well being. Yes, it was nice that he cared, but at the moment, she wanted to go home and soak in the bath, and take something for her head, which was throbbing now.  
  
"Seriously, are you okay?"  
  
Beckett took the bag of ice a teacher brought her and pressed it to the back of her head, "I just need something for pain, later though."  
  
"Do you need anything else?"  
  
"Yes, for someone to do something about Emily. Every time I'm here or around her and Jason, something like this happens, and I'm tired of scrubbing goo out of my hair, mud in my clothes, and soaking wet in a bikini in October." She glared at him, eyes flicking to the stage where Emily was still performing with her class. After a moment of glaring in her direction, she returned her gaze to Castle. "Please, for the love of all that's holy, do something about her. I'm tired of getting hurt or covered in disgusting substances when I'm around her and Jason."  
  
"Beckett, it was an accident. They happen and--"  
  
She interrupted him. "No. These are not accidents. I even asked her mother to do something about it and told her everything Emily and Jason have done to me. You haven't seen the looks Emily gives me. She's an angel to you, but a devil behind your back. I keep telling you this, and you keep denying it and defending her."  
  
"Now you're just being dramatic," he teased. When she continued to scowl at him, he sighed and rubbed her shoulders. "I'll look into it."  
  
"Thank you." Maybe he actually would this time. Heavens, she hoped so.  
  
\--  
  
The plan was to get the two kids back. Nothing serious, just signs on their backs that called them mean or something else immature. She even wrote it with her non-dominant hand to make the writing kind of...well, terrible. She was pleased with it, but the problem was trying to execute the plan.  
  
She actually made it; Beckett managed to sneak the signs onto their backs and walked away smirking to herself. Payback. It was innocent-ish revenge, and no one would get hurt. There was no way those two could pin it on her.  
  
Except they did.  
  
Literally.  
  
Emily's birthday was over the weekend, and Castle and Beckett were invited. Beckett said that she wasn't going anywhere near those kids, but Castle said that he, Emily, and Emily's mom talked about the situation and that it should have been solved by now.  
  
It wasn't, by the way.  
  
The kids were playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey, which was fine, but the adults were standing nearby, drinking whatever they'd picked out and talked about the kids and their lives in general. Beckett didn't think she had a thing in common with any of them and felt a little out of place. Castle had a kid, at least, and he could relate; Beckett didn't have much to offer. They asked her what she did for a living, but when they started asking her how close her job was to what they saw on TV, Beckett was blunt in her description of what she saw and did. The parents didn't ask her anything else after that.  
  
Emily and Jason's revenge came a few minutes later when Emily snuck up behind Beckett and pinned the tail on her. It was with a pushpin, one that hurt like hell. Beckett yelped and jerked away, sloshing coke down her front, and swore. "Dammit."  
  
"Language, there are kids around!" One of the parents chastised.  
  
"Emily purposefully stabs me with a pushpin, and I'm the one that needs correcting?" This was ridiculous.  
  
"I pinned the tail on the donkey though." Emily was fighting a smile and failing, and Beckett realized what the girl was silently calling her.  
  
"Emily, you shouldn't poke people with pins like that. You hurt them." At least her mother said something, although it wasn't enough in her opinion. "Apologize."  
  
"Sorry Ms. Beckett for poking you with a pin because you taped a sign on me." Dammit.  
  
Her mother frowned, "What do you mean?"  
  
Emily jumped at the chance to tattle on her. "Ms. Beckett taped signs on mine and Jason's backs calling us lint lickers!"  
  
The parents looked back to her, brows raised in a silent question. Beckett slumped a little, "It was my own petty revenge for something they did to me."  
  
"What did they do?"  
  
She really didn't want to have this conversation. And thank heavens she had Castle; she could kiss him for finding a way to get her out of this situation.  
  
"Emily's mother can tell you about it. Beckett and I are going to head home and enjoy our weekend before we're slammed with work again." After quickly saying their goodbye's, the pair scurried out the door and headed home.  
  
"I won't make you go near her again."  
  
"You keep saying that and yet I keep finding myself with them again." She was sure that this wasn't the end of it, but she kept lying to herself that maybe, just maybe, she won't have to do this again. Maybe there would be peace, finally.  
  
"Yeah, but I mean it this time."  
  
Beckett gave his arm a light pat, "Keep telling yourself that."


End file.
